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MOSCOW, April 16 Henkel Russia, which has been operating in the country since the beginning of the year as an independent company called Lab Industries, has begun to Russify brands from its portfolio, the correspondent was convinced.
So, in domestic stores and marketplaces, brand products began to appear in the same design, but with names in Russian. For example, Vernel fabric softener is now Vernel, Persil laundry detergent is now Persil, and Bref toilet blocks are Bref. Also, in one of the product cards on Ozon it says — «We changed the letters, but nothing has changed.»
Lab Industries itself confirmed to the agency that since January this year, Henkel Russia has been operating as an independent company under a new commercial name, while the deal to sell assets in the country, according to them, is at the final stage.
«Before the signing, we cannot provide any additional information, neither about the deal nor about the business plans for the product portfolio or individual brands. At the same time, we can confirm that Vernel is manufactured by Lab Industries,» they added.
Ozon said that «the names of some Henkel brands were Russified by the manufacturer itself.» They emphasized that in fact nothing has changed, except for writing in Cyrillic instead of Latin, and the goods are produced at the same enterprises and are also checked before sale, as before the change in spelling of the name.
Key Consulting Group Managing Partner Anastasia Kucherena also noted that such changes were probably dictated by the company's decision, and not, for example, by current regulations, including the law on the state language. «Other reasons for changing names seem to be justified, for example, rebranding of companies,» she said.
The Henkel group of companies is one of the largest European chemical concerns producing household chemicals, cosmetics and construction products. The company's brands include Moment glue, Pemolux cleaning products, Persil, Pemos, Losk, Laska, Vernel; cosmetics and hygiene products Fa, Taft, Shamtu, Schwarzkopf, Syoss; finishing products Ceresit, Metylan and others. Last spring, the company announced that it was going out of business in Russia. Upon completion of the sale, Henkel intends to relinquish control over all activities of the sold Russian business.